noun
mer
noun
1
In chemistry, the smallest repeating structural unit in a polymer chain.
"Each mer in the polymer chain contributes the same repeating carbon backbone."
"Chemists calculate a polymer's molecular weight by counting how many mers make up the chain."
How to Use Mer
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe one repeating building-block unit that gets copied over and over to make a polymer.
When to use it
A technical chemistry term, rarely seen outside polymer science.
Word Forms
mers plural, Mers plural
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Each _____ in the polymer chain contributes the same repeating carbon backbone.
Etymology
A shortening of "polymer" — chemists coined "mer" to name the single repeating unit that, strung together many times, forms the whole polymer.